Thermostatic valve



Dec. 3, 1929. E. E. GOLD THERMOSTATIC VALVE INVENTOR By Attorneys;

Filed July 23, 1927 Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNETED STATES PATENT EDWARD E.GOLD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOIL TO GOLD CAP HEATING & LIGHT- INGCOMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK THERMOSTATICVALVE Application filed. July 23, 1927.

This invention relates to an improved thermostatically-operated gasvalve of the type frequently used to control the flow of gas to a heaterin a room or chamber in Which it is desired to prevent the fall oftemperature below a predetermined point. Such installations are commonlyemployed to prevent the lowering of the temperature in a garage belowthat at which the water in an automobile radiator would be likely tofreeze. Other uses for such thermostatically-con trolled valves will beobvious.

One object of the invention. is to provide a valve of the abovedescribedcharacter in which the valve element and the thermostat element may bemounted in a very close sidebyside relationship, with all movable partsof the operating mechanism which are not intended to be accessible sopositioned that they may be readily covered and protected by a singleperforate or openwork casing or guard which will shield the delicateparts of the apparatus and prevent them from being tampered with,without obstructing a free communication between the external atmosphereand that immediately surrounding the thermostat element within thecasing. In the form of the invention herein disclosed this has beenaccomplished by mounting the Valve and thermostat element adjacent eachother in a body comprising a mounting plate having flanges extendingfrom one of its surfaces at its opposite ends, and in locating thethermostat element, the stem of the valve and the lever by which thethermostat may operate the valve within the space between the twoflanges, which may then be enclosed by a guard plate arching over themounting plate from one of its unflanged margins tr the other andextending from one flange of the mounting plate to the other, therebycom pletely enclosing the space between the flanges, in which all thedelicate parts of the mechanism are located, with an openwork guardthrough which air may freely circulate.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention:

Figure l is face view of an assembled thermostatically-controiled valveembodying the invention herein referred to.

Serial No. 207,967.

Fig. 2 is a view of the opposite face of the thermostatically-controlledvalve, some of the openings in the guard plate being omitted and thepositions of their centers being represented by crosses.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged scale view in longitudinal section taken along theline 33 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a View in transverse section along the line 4l4 of Fig. 1looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, the scale being thesame as that of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view of the device corresponding with that of Fig. 2,omitting parts of the guard plate in order to expose the underlyingstructure, the scale being the same as that in Figs. 3 and 4.

The invention, in the preferred form herein disclosed, comprises a bodyhaving a chambered portion 20 near one end to be used as a valve'casingand a support extending outwardly from the outer surface of said casingto form a mounting plate 21, having flanges 22, 23 projecting from oneof the surfaces of the mounting plate for purposes which will bedescribed.

Within the valve casing is a valve seat 24 having a port 25 thereinadapted to be opened and closed by the movement of a valve disk orclosure 26 normally held in a concentric relation by means of a valvestem 27 extend- .ing from the disk into an opening provided therefor ina boss 28 which may project inwardly from the end wall of the valvecasing.

The valve stem 27 may be extended preferably by a detached element 29through the end wall of the valve casing, and may be terminated in arounded head 30 to cooperate with parts of the mechanism not yetdescribed.

One end of the valve casing may, if desired, be closed by means of athreaded cap 81 having a hexagonal head 82 by which it maybe readilyapplied and removed with the aid of an appropriate tool. The openingclosed by the cap 31 will preferably be of such dimension as to afford aready means of inserting and removing the valve disk.

A spring 33 may be inserted between the inner surface of the cap .31 andthe opposed surface of the valve disk 26, whereby the lat ter may benormally held against its seat and returned thereto when moved away fromthe same if not restrained by other means hereinafter referred to. Thisspring may be held in a concentric relation with respect to the valvedisk by means of a cylindrical boss 34, which may, extend slightly abovethe surface of the disk and which may be of proper dimensions to beembraced by the ad jacent end of the spring.

As indicated in Fig. 4, an opening 35 affords a means of communicationbetween the threaded valve inlet 36 and the chamber 37 of the valvecasing which houses the valve disk. A similar opening 38 af ords a meansof communication between the threaded outlet 39 of the valve and thechamber of the valve casing through which passes the valve stem 27 Inorder to provide fora suiiicient flow of gas to prevent the flamecontrolled by the valve from being extinguished when the valve disk 26is moved against its seat, a pilot valve 40 may be employed, controllinga bypass 41, 42 around the valve disk. This by-pass may be opened andclosed by adjustment of the pilot screw 43, which may be securely heldin any desired position of adjustment by the pilot screw lock-nut 44.

The opening and closing of the valve is effected by means of athermostat 45 comprising a pair of sealed expansible chambers 46 securedtogether and to screws 47, one in engagement with an adjusting screw 48in threaded connection with the mounting plate 21, and the other inthreaded connection with a button 49 forming a coupling between themovable end of the thermostat and one end of a lever 50, the other endof said lever being fulcrumed in the flange 23 as at 51.

Within the cells of the thermostat may be sealed a suitable quantity ofany appropriate volatile fluid such as will cause the thermostat toexpand and contract at predetermined temperatures within the range atwhich it is intended to close and open the valve.

As clearly indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, the head on the end of the valvestem is so p0- sitioned as to be just clear of the surface of the leverwhen the valve disk is seated and the thermostat is expanded.

The thermostat comprises cells constructed of resilient metal, and, whenin normal form, are relatively flat, thus making the normal length ofthe thermostat somewhat less than that indicated in Fig. 3 in which thethermostat is represented in its expanded condition. W hen thetemperature drops below that at which the thermostat is intend-- ed toopen the valve, the fluid in the cells is condensed, thereby permittingthe then :nostat to contract and draw the lever against the valve stem,thus forcing the valve disk to an open position against the opposingeifort of the spring 33.

The exact temperature at which the thermostat may be caused to open andclose the valve may be varied through a limited range by rotating theadjusting screw 48, thereby causing the end of the thermostat which ismounted in said screw to be moved slightly in a longitudinal direction.Such adjustments may readily be effected by means of the arm,52, whichmay be clamped by a screw 53 or other suitable fastening device to astem 54 secured to or forming a part of the adjusting screw.Unintentional rotation of the adjusting screw may be prevented by meansof a retaining spring 55, which may be confined between the surface ofthe mounting plate 21 and the washer 56 surrounding the stem 54 justunder the arm 52.

The particular volatile fluid used in the cells of the thermostat willbe selected in accordance with the range of temperatures within which itis desired to have the valve openedand closed. In the form of theinvention herein disclosed, this range of temperatures is represented asextending from 40 to 65 as indicated by the temperature designations(40, 50, 65) appearing on the face of the mounting plate, as illustratedin Fig. 1. The arm 52 not only serves as a finger-piece by which theadjusting screw may be rotated, but also serves as an index to cooperatewith the temperature designations to form an indicator by which thethermostat may be set to open and close the valve at the desiredtemperature.

It is intended that the cells 46 of the thermostat 45 be permanentlysecured together and to the adjusting screw 48 and button 49 so that thethermostat, the screw and the button will be rotated as a unit duringthe setting movements of the device for different temperatures. This maybe effected by inserting lock washers 57 between the end cells of thethermostat and the parts to which they are fastened, or, if desired,rotation of the thermostat with respect to the adjusting screw andbutton may be prevented by the application of solder after the cells ofthe thermostat are screwed into the adjoining parts.

Preferably the thermostat and connected valve-operating mechanism willbe protected by the use of a perforated guard plate 58 or by othersuitable openworlr material arched over the space between the flanges22, 23 from one margin of the mounting plate to the other. This guardplate may lap over the margins of the mounting plate as well as over theedges of the flanges, and may be secured by a single bolt and nut 59,60, the bolt being passed through the edges of the guard plate andthrough lugs 61 providedv for such purpose at the margins of themounting plate. The guard plate completely closes the space between theflanges within which are located all movable parts of the mech nismwhich are not intended to be accessible. The guard plate, therefore,protects the delicate parts of the mechanism and prevents meddlesomepersons from tampering with the same. Being constructed of perforated oropenworkmaterial, however, the guard plate does not interfere with freeair circulation between the outside atmosphere and the air surroundingthe thermostat.

Leakage of gas about the valve stem may be prevented by packing (notshown) of any suitable character.

By using a lever of the second kind as the operating medium between thethermostat and the valve stem, it has been made possible to mount thevalve and the thermostat in close side-by-side relation in a unitarybody member with all movable parts of the mechanism which should beprotected, in a closely associated relation adapted to be shielded by asingle. guard plate which may be secured to the body member by a singlefastening element.

The above-described thermostatically-controlled valve is of relativelysimple construction, having a minimum number of parts capable of beingquickly disassembled for purposes of repair or removal and as quicklyreassembled.

The invention is not intended to be limited to the specific form hereinselected for purposes of illustration, but should be regarded ascovering modifications and variations thereof within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A thermostatic valve comprising a valve seat having a port therein, aclosure therefor, a spring by which said closure may be mover to andmaintained in a port-closing position when free, a thermostat adapted tobe expanded and contracted respectively by increases and decreases oftemperature, and a lever coupled to said thermostat by which saidclosure may be moved to a port-opening position against the effort ofsaid spring when said thermostat is contracted, said lever having itsoperative connections with said thermostat and said valve closure sorelated that one of said connections is intermediate the fulcrum of thelever and the other connection, the lever being freely movable when thethermostat is expanded to a position free from controlling influenceover said closure.

2. A thermostatic valve as defined by claim 1, having adjustablemounting element for he thermostat whereby the thermostat may bevariably set to open and close said valve at diiiereut predeterminedtemperatures.

3. A thermostatic valve comprising a valve casin having two supportsextending respecivclv fromv opposite les thereof. therm stat mounted inone of said supports, a valvecontrollin lever coupled at one end to saidthermostat and fulcrurned at its other end in the other of saidsupports, a valve in said casing, a spring by which said valve may bemoved to and maintained in a closed position when free, and a valve stemhaving its end disposed in the path of movement of a part of said leverintermediate its ends, whe by said valve may be moved to its openposition against the opposing effort of said spring.

4;. A thermostatic valve comprising a valve casing having two supportsextending re spectively from opposite sides thereof, a thermostatmounted in one of said supports, a valve in said casing having a valvestem located between said thermostat and the other of said supports, anda lever fulcrumed in the last-mentioned support and having parts incooperative relation with said valve stem and the free end of saidthermostat, whereby said valve may be opened and closed by thevaria-tions in the length of said thermostat due to temperature changes.

5. A thermostatic valve comprising a mounting plate having flangesextending from one of its surfaces at its opposite ends, a valve mountedin one end of said plate having a valve stem extended into the spacelying between said flanges, a thermostat mounted in the other end ofsaid plate having its free end extended into the space between saidflanges, a lever having one of its ends coupled to the free end of saidthermostat and its other end fulcrumed in the flange at the op posit-eside of said valve, an intermediate portion of said lever being in aposition to move said valve stem when moved to one of its limitingpositions by the contraction of said thermostat, and a perforated casingarching over and enclosing the space lying between the flanges of saidplate and serving as an op enwork guard for the thermostat and the leverand valve stem operated thereby.

6. A thermostatic valve comprising a mounting plate, flanges extendingfrom one surface of said plate along two of its opposite margins, avalve, a thermostat, and thermostatically-controlled valve-operatingmechanism extending into the space lying between said flanges, anopenwork protecting guard arching over the space lying between saidflanges from one unflanged margin of said plate to the other andextending from one flanged margin to the other, and a single fasteningelement securing said guard to said mounting plate.

7. A thermostatic valve comprising a mounting plate, flanges extendingfrom one surface of said plate along two of its opposite margins, avalve, a thermostat, and thermostatically-controlled valve-operatingmechanism extending into the space lying between said flanges, anoponwork protecting guard arching over the space lying between saidflanges from one unflanged margin of said plate to the other andextending from one flanged margin to the other, a pair of lugs on saidplate located adjacent its unflanged margins intermediate its ends, anda single fastening element passing through said guard and said lugs andthereby securing said guard to said mounting plate.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed llly BRIDE.

EDWVABD E. GOLD.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,737,585. Granted December 3, 1929, to

EDWARD E. GOLD.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3,line 30, for the word "removal" read "renewal"; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed'this 14th day of January, A. D. 1930.

M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

